Guide to Holistic Dentistry

In addition to his work on nutrition, Dr. Price conducted extensive research into the destructive effects of root canals, detailed in his two-volume work Dental Infections Oral & Systemic and Dental Infections & the Degenerative Diseases. His conclusions, ignored by the orthodox dental establishment for over 50 years, are gaining renewed acceptance as holistic practitioners are discovering that the first step to recovery from degenerative disease often involves removal of all root canals in the patient’s mouth. The principles of holistic dentistry, based on the research of Weston Price, are as follows:

Eat nutrient-dense whole foods, properly grown and prepared.

Avoid root canals. If you have root canals and suspect that they are causing trouble, have them removed by a knowledgeable dentist.

Avoid mercury (amalgam) fillings. If you have amalgam fillings, have them removed by a holistic dentist who specializes in mercury filling replacement.

Orthodontics should include measures to widen the palate.

When it is necessary to extract teeth, do so in such a way as to avoid leaving the jaw bone with cavitations, which can be focal points of infection.

Caption: Good dental health begins with the diet of both parents. The Samoan boy on the left was born to parents who ate nutrient-rich native foods. The Samoan boy on the right was born to parents who had abandoned their traditional diet. He has crowded dental arches and will be more susceptible to dental decay and chronic illness.

Sally Fallon Morell is the founding president of the Weston A. Price Foundation and founder of A Campaign for Real Milk. She is the author of the best-selling cookbook, Nourishing Traditions (with Mary G. Enig, PhD) and the Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby & Child Care (with Thomas S. Cowan, MD). She is also the author of Nourishing Broth (with Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, CCN).

18 Responses to Guide to Holistic Dentistry

I am looking for information on the how, what, and why of holistic dental health. I always had healthy teeth as a child, but now as an adult, after having 4 children my teeth are not doing well. A recent trip to the dentist left me with a long list of procedures they want me to do, the word Periodontal disease mentioned, (though no gingivitis, they said slight bone loss hens receding gums), places they want to fill on many teeth though not all cavities some types of surface loss that they want to fill…
I left feeling surprised, confused, and disbelief, and sure I can do better! Even by my next appointment!
Am I right? Can changes be made to improve these things before they become big problems? Can I reverse these things strictly with diet? How long does that take? How strict does the diet have to be?
Is there an app for this? Lol? (Only partially kidding. Does WAP have a diet app?)

You should look into Nadine Artemis’ book “Holistic Dentistry.” She’s a big proponent of vacating conventional dental hygiene products and going homemade. She really breaks it down when it comes to caring for your teeth and why that probably happened. (Most of what I’ve read is that during pregnancy/breastfeeding, if a mother is deficient, the nutrients come from her own body, the teeth being prime.

My 8 year old son needs a root canal on one of his molars and the dentist wants to put in a silver crown. Would it be ok if I had them extract the tooth instead since he will be getting in another set of molars and wisdom teeth? I just need some guidance. I am worried about putting any silver in his mouth.

Please get a second opinion from a biological dentist. This web site has a list of them by state. I worked with Dr. Mike Margolis in Mesa Arizona. My health has been declining for the past 30 years. Dr. Margolis cleaned out my mouth. I had 4 cavitations were my wisdom teeth had been for starters. He removed two root canals as well. I have my life back again. All my health problems disappeared!!!!

I am writing a book about my experiences.

Please–don’t create a handicap for your son that isn’t necessary. Conventional dentistry creates problems over time.Well being is our birthright.

I even went to a “biological” dentist who doesn’t have a big problem with root canals. So even if they are biological or holistic be careful. I have 4 that I need to have removed but don’t have the $$$ at this point and also don’t know if its going to be a life changer like you have stated.

My son, now 4 has several carries on the top due to prolonged nighttime nursing (we had some problems nursing so he got lots of the sugary foremilk and would sleep with it in his mouth). My hubby and I have been on a nutrient dense diet including cod liver oil and all the raw dairy products and liver, etc… My husband has notes in the margin of Price’s book, and we have been religious about a pure diet. My son’s straight teeth, wide dental arch and strong facial structure are all proof of that. My big concern is whether to treat the carries he does have or just let them go. A few of the carries are pretty big, on the side where he slept and the milk obviously pooled…. anyway, I don’t know if nitrous or general anesthesia or just leaving them be is the best course of action. I have all the books on curing tooth decay naturally, and we do all that stuff… What to do now? We finally decided on Micheal Margolis, a holistic dentist in Arizona… but he still wants to treat all the teeth. We liked that he wanted to use Nitrous over general anethesia, but now I’m not so sure I want any toxins in my son’s body. If we are on a great diet, can’t we just let it go? His teeth will eventually fall out and he’ll get his nice adult teeth in one day. I guess I don’t know if his affected baby teeth will last that long. What are your thoughts? He will need his affected teeth for up to 8 more years? What to do about that?
Thanks,
Candice.

Hi Christie,
We decided to go with a dentist who used Versed, a liquid valuim for kids. He also used nitrous. My son was really complaining about the pain his teeth were causing him, even when we were just brushing them. I’m not sure I like what we ended up doing, but I didn’t like the other options any better. If things were not so painful, I would have just let his teeth do their thing. My son would never had stayed still with just nitrous, so we had to do more. I didn’t want to do an IV or general anethesia… so the versed was the next least invasive… but it was aweful and I’m sure it affected him in ways we don’t even know. Hope you were able to make a decision that was right for your family. My naturopathic doctor said that when she was in south america, they just let the baby teeth rot out if needed… then the adult teeth are usually fine. My son was just too sensitive to the pain. I guess if I could go back in time, I’d look at ways of desensitizing the teeth so that he could just tough it out until his big teeth come in… oh well. Many of the fillings and seals have come out, but he doesn’t complain anymore… so I’m not planning more work for now.

Once, I told my dentist (a dental hygienist. She didn’t study dentristy) about Weston Price. Surprisingly, she had heard about him, although she knew nothing. I told her about Weston Price, his travels and his research, and I told her about the WAPF and its nutritional recommendations in relation to dental health. She told me that all that was fine, but impossible to put into practice, because there are very few patients who care enough about their teeth to change their diet in order to take care of them. Sad, but logical. What do you think?

My son saw an orthodontist today who recommended that he get both his incisors removed because his adult tooth is coming in on the inside on his left side. His upper front adult teeth are not quite midline with his face. He wants to remove his other incisor too so that his face will be more symmetrical and it will leave a little more room for a mm shift? I’m concerned about tooth extraction especially because he is only 8 and the adult incisors don’t usually come in til 10-12. This orthodontist is unfamiliar with any technique to widen the palate. What are the downsides of tooth extraction? He gave me none.

Should I go to dentist and get my 4 root canals removed? What then? implants? Also what do I do with remaining teeth with significant decay and some are crumbling before my eyes. Ive been doing FCLO and HVBO for over 2 years now and have at least been keeping my tooth pain to a minimum. Ive been to holistic and biological dentists and have really been unsatisfied from their proposed treatment plans. They dont have problems with root canals and dont really tell you proper diet plans.

Craigo;
I certainly empathize with you. I have severe dental issues on my upper right that I’ve been dealing with for years. My current dentist has just been putting a “Band-Aid” on the issues since pre-2007. Now things have become so serious that I need at least 1-2 teeth extracted b/c they are hopeless. This is the general consensus from 3 dentists I have seen within the past few weeks. I traveled over an hour to another state to see a biological dentist, and although I believe his diagnosis of my issues is correct, he did not clarify a lot of things with me, even though I asked many questions. I have an appointment next week to have extractions done by a local (conventional) oral surgeon, but I’m not sure they follow the protocols on this website, so I am once again …… risking my health and emptying my wallet.
Be careful of implants. I have done a lot of research and read a lot of negative effects of titanium. Zirconium is better, as also mentioned on this website. There are also partials, bridges, etc. The first step is finding a dentist you can trust and who knows what he is doing – whether it be conventional or biological. My email is bchristine1910@gmail.com.

i went to a biological dentist yesterday..travelled an hour and a half…she was quite nice until i told her i was having my implants done in costa rica…as i am moving there…do not have the funds to afford them here in canada.
She actually stuck an instrument in my infected back molar and then told me oh you are nervous…i said no that really hurt..she tried to pawn me off on another dentist..told me my dental issues were complex..looks like i have researched someone good in costa rica..
I was so disappointed..She asked me if i had ever done EFT…I said yes..she said maybe we will do a round..
When she came back in i asked if there was anything positive about my teeth…lol..
The only one who was negative and needed the EFT was her…

I live in Canada…implants are crazy…the thing with zirconium..is that it hasnt been round long enough..you cannot treat people like cattle…everyone is different..some may not have problems with titanium.
All i know is that dentistry is big business..and if you are able to find someone who really wants to help..i think that is rare..
I found calcium therapy online…i may buy the products..i do have the dental products from Nadine Artermis site..which is Living Liabations..check her out ..she is terrific…

What is WAPF view and suggestion around a holistic dentist highly recommending sealant son my 6 yr old girls perm molars? She says they have deep fissures. My dentist also holistic said no or to make sure theirs are free of BPA. Thanks!